Escape: Palm Springs Hideaway

The fascinating article in the NY Times this weekend about Palm Springs CA and its revitalized real estate market reminded me that I have not yet shared the OTHER amazing hotel I stayed at there last month. The Colony Palms Hotel is an absolutely charming 1930s hotel built in the Spanish Colonial style and recently updated by famed designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard. Their dining room, the Purple Palm restaurant, is divine —  with high ceilings, lanterns and mosaic tiles that feel like you’re at some remote spot in Morocco.

My daughter Haley & I had both dinner there (inside) and then breakfast in the AM, outdoors right by the pool. LOVED it!!

We were in Room #1 which I forgot to take a picture of, but the image below is pretty close. It has a very bohemian vibe - with furniture showing its age, which I like. The other thing this hotel has that I really appreciate is human scale. It’s a very cozy group of bungalows and out buildings ringed around a gorgeous pool.  When I’m on vacation, I hate taking elevators and going through looooong carpeted hallways that feel so corporate and work-ish. Once you get to Colonial Palm, you are in kind of a grotto setting and it feels like instant relaxation....

We didn’t get a chance to use the hotel’s bikes, but if you do you’ll find all kinds of cafe’s and mid-century modern antique shops in downtown Palm Springs within a very easy distance (we walked there).

(All photos are mine except for bedroom shot, courtesy of Colonial Palms)

I can’t say enough good things about this place! I had picked it randomly (and last minute) via TripAdvisor — trusting that its Conde Nast Traveler award last year was pretty good bet.

I’d love to go back to Palm Springs & have my eye on a place that had not yet quite opened, La Serena Villas. Another 1930s charmer, La Serena is closer to the San Jacinto mountains and looks amazing and very modestly priced. We’ll see how long that lasts once they are discovered!:)

(Photos courtesy of La Serena Villas)